Those who know me well know I’m a walking dichotomy—an atheist utterly fascinated by religion and its impact on our world. My recent viewing of two astonishing series on HBO served to confirm this contradiction.
I finished 2016’s “The Young Pope” and 2020’s “The New Pope,” in a two-week binge that left me exhausted, stupefied and uplifted at the same time.
The “Young Pope” stars Jude Law as the first American pope, Pope Pius XIII. A shocking title sequence, off-the-wall dream scenes, bureaucratic chicanery, a gripping score and diverse soundtrack, the machinations of the Vatican curia and the rich tapestry of the Catholic Church made for a wild ride.
The sequel includes Law and John Malkovich as Pope John Paul III. This continuation was just as rich, with stunning visuals, forbidden love among the cardinals, horse-trading in the conclave and a laying bare of the deception that goes on inside the Vatican.
I was struck by the struggles of humanity illustrated within the drama through richly written dialogue. The focus on the innocence of children. The appeal to love by Malkovich’s John Paul III and his ability to find the “middle way” to influence the Vatican bureaucracy. The evolution of Law’s Pius XIII from a doctrinal strong man to a compassionate ruler willing to sacrifice.
Though these are fictional series, there’s a lesson here for our world: these are mortal men, with the same proclivities and faults as anyone. As history has shown, cloaking yourself in the robes of religion does not make you immune to moral, ethical and behavioral failings. If anything, it makes that behavior more shocking and damaging when such hypocrisy is revealed to the world.
I’m Wester Wuori and that’s my Perspective.
